Featured Research

from universities, journals, and other organizations

Scientists Identify 36 Genes, 100 Neuropeptides In Honey Bee Brains

Date:

October 26, 2006

Source:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Summary:

From humans to honey bees, neuropeptides control brain activity and, hence, our behaviors. Understanding the roles these peptides play in the life of a honey bee will assist researchers in understanding the roles they play in their human counterparts.

Share This

Jonathan Sweedler, a William H. and Janet Lycan Professor of Chemistry and the director of the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center, has identified 36 genes, 100 neuropeptides in honey bee brains.

Credit: Image courtesy of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

From humans to honey bees, neuropeptides control brain activity and, hence, our behaviors. Understanding the roles these peptides play in the life of a honey bee will assist researchers in understanding the roles they play in their human counterparts.

Related Articles

There are a million neurons in the brain of a honey bee (Apis mellifera), a brain not much larger than the size of the period at the end of this sentence. The activities of these neurons are influenced by the sea of peptides they are bathed in.

"Neuropeptides undoubtedly play a role in the bees' shift from working in the hive to foraging, displaying and interpreting dance language, and in defending the hive," said Jonathan Sweedler, a William H. and Janet Lycan Professor of Chemistry and the director of the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

"To use the honey bee as a model for sociogenomics, and to link molecular information to neurochemical and physiological data, we first must know the identities of the peptides used in the brain and the genes they are encoded by," Sweedler said.

Using a combination of the newly available honey bee genome sequence, as well as bioinformatics and mass spectrometry, Sweedler and collaborators from the United States and Belgium inferred the sequences of more than 200 possible neuropeptides and confirmed the sequences of 100 neuropeptides from the brain of the honey bee.

"This study lays the groundwork for future molecular studies of honey bee neuropeptides with the identification of 36 genes, 33 of which were previously unreported," the researchers write in the Oct. 27 issue of the journal Science.

"Neuropeptides come in a bewildering range of shapes and sizes, and are notoriously hard to predict from a genome alone," Sweedler said. "Even if you find a gene, it is hard to say what particular peptide it will create, because neuropeptide precursors undergo extensive post-translational processing."

Some of the neuropeptides the researchers discovered were a result of direct measurements of bee brains using an extremely sensitive mass spectrometer. Some of the genes were found because they resembled genes discovered in other species, such as the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). And, because genes that produce neuropeptides often have repeating sequences, some of the genes were found by a computer algorithm that scanned the honey bee genome for such telltale sequences.

"We found 36 genes, from which we detected 100 peptides by mass spectrometry," said Sweedler, who also is a researcher at the university's Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and an affiliate of the university's Institute for Genomic Biology. "By combining other techniques, from bioinformatics to proteomics, we inferred an additional 100 peptides."

Some of the inferred peptides may not have been measured because they were present at too low a level to be detected, Sweedler said. Others may have been missed because they are present only during particular developmental stages. Future work will no doubt find and confirm more of the brain's peptides.

"The potential of our blended technology approach to facilitate discovery of these peptides is not only significant for advancing honey bee research," the researchers wrote, "it demonstrates promise for neuropeptide discovery in the large number of other new genomes currently being sequenced."

The work was funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

More From ScienceDaily

More Plants & Animals News

Featured Research

Mar. 3, 2015 — While studying a ground-nesting bird population near El Reno, Okla., a research team found that stress during a severe weather outbreak of May 31, 2013, had manifested itself into malformations in ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — The 3-D printing scene, a growing favorite of do-it-yourselfers, has spread to the study of plasma physics. With a series of experiments, researchers have found that 3-D printers can be an important ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Most people consume more salt than they need and therefore have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the two leading causes of death worldwide. But a new study reveals that dietary ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — By examining the forces that the segments of mosquito legs generate against a water surface, researchers have unraveled the mechanical logic that allows the mosquitoes to walk on water, which may ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Pediatric otolaryngologists and surgeons are concerned with parents getting the wrong message regarding the safety/desirability of letting babies and young children eat peanuts to prevent them from ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Researchers have developed a new way of rapidly screening yeasts that could help produce more sustainable biofuels. The new technique could also be a boon in the search for new ways of deriving ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — Similar to humans and animals, plants possess an innate immune system that protects them from invading pathogens. Molecular structures that only occur in pathogens enable their recognition and ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — For almost a century, scientists have been puzzled by a process that is crucial to much of the life in Earth's oceans: Why does calcium carbonate, the tough material of seashells and corals, ... full story

Mar. 3, 2015 — To simulate chimp behavior, scientists created a computer model based on equations normally used to describe the movement of atoms and molecules in a confined space. An interdisciplinary research ... full story

Featured Videos

Rare Goblin Shark Found in Australia

AFP (Mar. 3, 2015) — A goblin shark, a rare sea creature described as an &apos;alien of the deep&apos; is found off Australia and delivered to the Australian Museum in Sydney. Duration: 01:25
Video provided by AFP

Zookeepers Copy Animal Poses In Hilarious Viral Photos

Buzz60 (Mar. 2, 2015) — Zookeepers at the Symbio Wildlife Park in Helensburgh, Australia decided to take some of their favorite animal photos and recreate them by posing just like the animals. Jen Markham (@jenmarkham) has the story.
Video provided by Buzz60

Related Stories

July 17, 2014 — Many beekeepers feed their honey bees sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup when times are lean inside the hive. This practice has come under scrutiny, however, in response to colony collapse disorder, ... full story

Dec. 12, 2012 — A new video-article illustrates a novel tactile conditioning experiment using honey bees. The technique trains honey bees to stick out their tongues when their antennae touch an object. This ... full story

June 7, 2012 — Researchers report that the parasitic 'Varroa' mite has caused the deformed wing virus to proliferate in honey bee colonies. This association is now thought to contribute to the world-wide ... full story

June 30, 2010 — Sweet news for those looking for new antibiotics: new research explains for the first time how honey kills bacteria. Specifically, the research shows that bees make a protein that they add to the ... full story

ScienceDaily features breaking news and videos about the latest discoveries in health, technology, the environment, and more -- from major news services and leading universities, scientific journals, and research organizations.